New York Yankees' Gary Sanchez Out for Season with Broken Finger

By Craig Williams

The New York Yankees’ preseason No. 2 prospect, Gary Sanchez, will likely miss the remainder of the season with a broken finger. This is obviously unfortunate, but it is part of the business. The only thing to do in this case is be thankful that he did not suffer a more serious injury. Gary Sanchez, 18, wrap up his first taste of full-season ball with an .820 OPS and 34 XBH – including 17 HR. For comparison’s sake, Jesus Montoro played at Low-A as a 19 year old and finished off the season with an .868 OPS and 17 HR – albeit in 224 more AB’s. Now, Jesus Montero’s season, overall, was better than Gary Sanchez’, but it is very nice to see so much power from the latter at such a young age. I’m extremely excited about his future.

I guess the question now becomes, where do the Yankees place Sanchez in 2012? Generally, I prefer a little more of a conservative approach. I wouldn’t mind seeing him start back at Low-A Charleston with the intent to move him up after 6-8 weeks of good play – after all, he only received 301 AB’s this season. It wouldn’t surprise me though if the Yankees promoted him to High-A Tampa to start the season. As I already mentioned, he showed good power and he also showed a very solid batting eye (36 BB/93 K) for such a young player. Additionally, the Yanks will obviously have a lot more relevant info to base their decisions on – info that may not necessarily show up in a box score or on a stat sheet. Unfortunately we’ll have to wait until 2012 to see Sancehz again, but we should be encouraged by his development this season.